Tea Party Republicans have talked a big game when it comes to deficit reduction, but one candidate just upped the ante. Utah's Mike Lee, who currently holds a 20-point lead in his U.S. Senate race, told a crowd of supporters last week that congressional Republicans are planning to cut federal spending by 40 percent next year. Yes, 40 percent of the entire federal budget (exempting, of course, the two political golden cows: defense spending and Social Security).
The cuts - which Lee's Democratic opponent, Sam Granato, estimates would cost the U.S. 7 million jobs - are actually part of a three-step GOP war plan Lee described during the rally. The strategy is this: